After realizing I was injured I went to see a nutritionist that informed me of certain foods with high vitamin and mineral properties that are extra crucial to the healing of joints, muscles, tendons, bruising, and after surgery. I saw a huge impact on how my body felt; I really realized how important diet is to the healing of our body and how much of a difference it makes. I never bruised after surgery, my doctor said I healed extremely fast and I can say that the foods I was eating had a huge role in this. It is really important to eat an all around healthy diet including fruits, veggies, protein, grains, legumes and to stay hydrated!

Injury recovery foods:
Rich in Vitamin A: mango, papaya, sweet potato, carrots, spinach, kale, chard, turnip greens, winter squash and red bell peppers.

Rich in vitamin C: Kiwi, orange, papaya, bell peppers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cantaloupe, strawberries, cauliflower, and kale.

Rich in Vitamin E: Sunflower seeds, almonds, olives, spinach,
papaya, collard/mustard greens, turnip greens and blueberries.

All these vitamins found in these foods help with epithelial and bone formation, immune function, collagen formation, tissue antioxidants, bruising, swelling, and healing time.

Surgery Recovery Foods: Initially for bruising and swelling
Blueberries and peaches help along with grapes, raspberries, mangos, cherries, pineapple, chestnuts, eggplant, chives, ginger, salmon, crab, turmeric, flax seed, nuts, brown rice, mung beans, black eyed peas, protein powder (try for raw plant based and avoid soy and whey), omega 3 fatty acids.

Curries are really good here and you can add flax seed to almost any meal, I drank tons of Kombucha (really high in probiotics) and coconut water for extra hydration.

*Some good places to visit in Breckenridge, maybe while a little injured too:
-Mini Putt at Copper
-Kayaking at Dillon Lake
-Blue River Bistro for good happy hour and live jazz music
-Alpine food market for fresh good for you food
-My Thai, best curries ever
-Skyline Cinema for movie time
-Art Festival in Breck

*Ways I stayed sane while recovering:
Surrounding myself with family and good friends -they always know how to keep me up and up.
I read a lot of books
Started to learn to play the ukulele
Journaled a lot
Listened to music
Played with play-dough
Painted
Hung with my puppies
Went outside as much as possible

I think staying positive and continuing to exercise your mind while still laying in bed is important. Always looking at the bright side and being thankful for what I did have really helped me stay positive, even when things seemed bad, in the big picture, it could have been a thousand times worse.

*Music:
I love Arcade Fire, some good tracks are “Ready to Start” and “Sprawl”
Sam Sparro “Black & Gold”
Beastie Boys & Santigold “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”
Mumford and Sons “Little Lion Man” and “Winter Winds”
The Beatles “Ob La Di Ob La Da”
Bill Withers “Ain’t no Sunshine”
Bone Thugs and Harmony “Its All Good”
Nicki Minaj and Drake “Moment 4 Life”

*Some dating advice for any ladies out there, and I guess gents too:
Always follow your heart -it is easy to listen to other people and to wrap yourself up in something that’s not you.
You know your self best- so always listen to your heart and gut. And last but most importantly, don’t take life to seriously, learn to laugh at yourself and do what makes you most happy without worrying about what others think! Never regret anything, everything is a learning experience.